*Don't take news for granted. Most of it is lies and even the truths are distorted. Furthermore, the mainstream news organizations like MSN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, FOX, etc. have ulterior motives to distract you from what the real news in our country actually is. Did you hear from these channels about the Bundy Ranch Standoff or Operation American Spring which is taking place at the time of this writing (May 23, 2014)? Did they tell you that the Federal Government has been arming itself with hollow point bullets to the tune of roughly 3 billion purchased, which are illegal for use overseas based on the Hague Convention and Geneva Treaty. Of course they didn't! These news organizations attempt to manipulate you with celebrity gossip and a bunch of other propagandizing garbage that comes out of Capitol Hill.

*Get out of the big banks. Instead, find a local bank or a local credit union wherein to store your money. If/when you see the dollar collapse coming, try to get your money out before the rush and purchase as many real provisions as you can. It's best not to feed the monster (the big banks) in the meantime. Move your money to a small financial institution today.

*Get out of debt as quickly as possible. DaveRamsey.com is an excellent place to start. I agree with over 90% of what Dave says about getting out of debt and have used his info to do just that, but I can't agree with some of his investment strategies, though they've been a net success to him so far. Specifically, I don't believe that the stock market can be used by the general population to create wealth at this day and time. That game has been rigged for a long time now.

*Prepare for periods of disaster. See the links in the video section. You DO NOT want to trust this government's officials to provide you shelter, food, water, protection, money or anything else. If disaster strikes, we cannot abandon our homes and we cannot allow our means of defense to be confiscated. Stock up on necessities such as storable foods, filtered water, toiletries, toilet paper, guns, ammo, body armor, gas masks & other means of defense & preservation. Diesel, hand-crank and/or solar generators are an excellent addition for preparedness.

*To the best of your ability, shop & buy local - avoiding corporations. When your money enters a publicly-traded corporation, the profits from that money are distributed to stock holders whom are most likely all over the globe. When you shop & buy local, the profits from that money are often spent in the same community.

*Never register your firearms, no matter what local, state or federal laws may entice you to do so. The best way to buy firearms is from person to person when possible. In Texas, the "Open Carry" law is only applicable to long guns like rifles and shotguns (not pistols). Carefully consider obtaining a Concealed Carry Permit for pistols - there are positive and negative impacts on both sides. It is lawful (based on my understanding) in Texas to transport a firearm (including pistols - with or without CCP) in Texas while traveling in your car.

*Instead of using mainline search engines like Google, Yahoo & Firefox, use www.Startpage.com . Startpage does not track or record your internet activities and gives you the option to access sites using a proxy server (anonymous).

*Stock up on heirloom seeds and start a garden. Invest in canning supplies to preserve fruits & veggies (and even meats).

*For those that can afford it, you may decide to invest in a "doomsday bunker" or "survivalist shelter". However, if you leave your home, you really can't expect the rest of us to defend it while it's uninhabited.

*Research solar energy options for your electronic devices. From what I've seen, wind energy turbines have a terrible ROI compared to that of solar investments. Also, research solar ovens and cookers which use sunlight to achieve plenty heat to cook foods safely.

*Save money in these ways:a) If you live in a single-story home and you have attic access in your garage, keep the attic door open and the garage door open 3-5 inches to better-ventilate your attic in the summer & reduce your cooling costs.b) If you have home phone service, drop it for a VOIP service like MagicJack. A full year of service and all the equipment you'll need to start costs around $50.c) If you are struggling financially and you have cable TV, drop the cable for Netflix streaming program which runs only $10 per month. You can purchase DTV boxes at electronics stores to pick up local channels and sporting events.d) Choose generic when you can. Studies show that generic versions of foods and medicines are virtually identical to the name-brand products but often cost much less. Many of them are even produced, manufactured, packaged and shipped by the same name-brand companies.e) Unplug unused electronic devices. Many of these devices in our homes draw a small amount of amps from our meters although they are not in use. (This is a good reminder for me, as I have a VHS player plugged in right now that my family hasn't used in many months.)f) Don't waste money on bottled water unless you are traveling. Most tap waters are proven to be as clean as bottled waters and tap water doesn't contain BPA carcinogens, although almost all water in our country now contains fluoride (including bottled water - even distilled).g) Try not to overbuild your neighborhood. Granite countertops and hand-scraped hardwood floors are nice & they are beautiful, but do not expect to get your money back on items like these when it's time to sell your house. If the house next door or down the street is otherwise identical to yours in square footage, number of rooms, lot size & structural features but it has vinyl & carpeted floors and Formica kitchen tops, appraisers will estimate the value of your property at approximately the same level. If you want the bells and whistles enough to pay for them, that's fine - but it can't be called an "investment" as the sales folks at the home improvement stores would like you to believe.h) If you can't get into Dave Ramsey's material and you're struggling financially, take care of necessities FIRST. Make sure you have enough food for your family. Make your house payments. Sell any car that you have to make payments on & buy a cash car. It may not be as nice and shiny, but if it'll get you to your job and back home, that's really the purpose, isn't it? If you can't sell it due to lack of equity, I would let it go back & save those monthly payments to purchase a cash car. I'm guessing it will take 2-3 months of missed payments before they attempt to repo a vehicle (if it's a bank loan -- dealer loans likely repo much faster). Example: You have a $500 car payment. If you skip the next 3 month's payments and let the car go back, you can pay cash for a $1,500 car (including tax, transfer fees, etc.)DO NOT, however, let a car repo that has equity. Sell that thing on the private market instead. Craigslist.org is a fantastic source of free advertising to market your car. Example: You have a car that's valued at $16,000. You owe $12,000. Sell the car privately (meaning not to a dealer) for $15,000 and use the remaining $3,000 to purchase a cash car.If you're struggling to buy food for your family, QUIT making your credit card payments. Yes, this will destroy your credit, but I believe that very few of us will be coming out of the upcoming economic crisis with A+ or even B-credit anyway. All this being said, it's a drop in the bucket from what Dave can teach you. Please invest some time on www.DaveRamsey.com . There's so very much free information on his site that can really help you if you're in debt or struggling to make ends meet.

*If you are facing foreclosure, DO NOT contact investors that will buy your house for cash right away or that offer to make your payments for you. These types of investors are predatory and intend to steal as much of your equity as possible. If you need an alternative to this, ask me about it in chat sometime & I can give you several options depending on your specific situation.

Here's a related article I found by typing in a search engine "percent of Americans living check to check": CNN Says 76% Please folks, we must get prepared and organized NOW! Help us with this forum and get your household in order.